Bristows to open first international office in Brussels

The new branch will be open for business in Spring 2018

17.11.2017

London, UK, 17 November 2017 – Bristows LLP, a full-service commercial law firm based in London, has announced today that it will be opening an office in Brussels in the spring of 2018. The office will be Bristows’ first overseas office in its 180 year history.

The focus of the Brussels office will be on representing the firm’s international clients in matters relating to EU law, whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. It is also in some ways a natural development for the firm, given that our lawyers have been involved in high profile EU matters and cases for many years.
Lawyers from the firm’s competition practice will work out of the Brussels office initially, but we expect the office also to play a role in supporting our other practices, including in particular our regulatory, data protection and trademark practices.

Founded 180 years ago in London, Bristows has always worked with innovative clients. The firm has a particular focus in the technology and life sciences sectors and serves a global clientele with interests in the UK and EU. The new Brussels office will be located at the heart of the European Quarter and reflects the strategic importance of EU matters for the firm’s clients.

Joint Managing Partner Marek Petecki commented after the announcement “This move opens a new and exciting chapter for the firm”, and continued “Our new Brussels office places Bristows at the heart of the EU and enables us look after our clients’ interests in the UK and EU no matter what a post-Brexit environment might look like.”

Competition Partner Stephen Smith commented: “We have taken a number of very practical steps to ensure that we can continue to support our clients across relevant practice areas, including of course competition, despite the uncertainties of Brexit. Establishing an office in Brussels is an exciting and concrete step that reinforces our commitment to continue to support our clients on EU law matters as we do today. Given that a significant number of our matters are already before the European institutions, it also makes sense for us to have a more permanent presence in Brussels.”

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